Amid possible surge, Marines help Afghans ‘shape the battlefield’

As the U.S. considers sending more troops to Afghanistan, Marines in Helmand province recently showed how U.S. advisers can help Afghan security forces take the fight to the Taliban.

In June, Afghan troops and police resupplied two battalions in Marjah as part of Maiwand Three, an operation named after a major battle in the Second Anglo-Afghan War.

Although Marines did not accompany the Afghans into battle, they tracked the Afghan National Army’s 215th Corps and 505th Zone National Police on the ground using surveillance aircraft, said Sgt. Maj. Darrell Carver, senior enlisted adviser for Task Force Southwest.